10 August 2008

Some of Dr Grumble's patients earn a living as life coaches and other similar occupations. Just what they do Dr Grumble is not sure. But they seem to earn a tidy sum. So presumably health coaches also earn a tidy sum though Dr Grumble really has no idea. In fact he was not too sure what a health coach does. Apparently they have them in the Wirral. Wirral PCT 'would like the Wirral population to be as healthy as possible' which is nice. And to do this they are providing health coaches. The service has been thoroughly evaluated (pdf) as far as patient satisfaction is concerned. But there don't seem to be any useful outcome measures which is a bit of a shame really. It seems the health coaches help patients prepare for appointments, use information more effectively, and support them before and after clinics. That's not all. There's a full list here. So you would think the Wirral Globe would be pleased. But there's a problem.

2 comments:

This is indeed the apotheosis of what New Labour are about. Life coaches really are a typical middle-class pleasing quasi-wibble response to health issues. I doubt if there is any validated outcome measures of any significance.

Then they take your personal information and shift it around the world, assuming that you will opt out, and give it to the private sector - in America.

I always thought life coaches were employed by individuals to tell them the truth in a way their friends and family won't or can't...now there's a thought! I think the most worrying point is the sale of medical records to the private sector without even a full understanding of why it's being sold. Ah well, gotta get that welfare bill down somehow, the creation of nonsense jobs must be part of the plan! Bendy Girl